The Dayuse chain allows you to rent hotel rooms by the hour (Picture: Supplied)

Get a (day) room

The Japanese and Brazilians, who tend to live at home well into adulthood, have long enjoyed the benefits of Love Hotels. You can now do the same in London thanks to Dayuse, which allows you to rent rooms by the hour. The scheme, which began life in Paris, counts the Edwardian Town Hall in east London’s Bethnal Green as one of its partners. Or whisk your loved one to Paris and spend an afternoon at former brothel L’Amour hotel (below) near Pigalle, the crème of the salacious crop and where Dayuse began.http://www.dayuse-hotels.com

Derby is the ale capital of Britain (Picture: Supplied)

Beer break
Derby may not be the obvious Valentine’s Day destination but stick two fingers up to cliché and give your partner what he (or she) really wants on February 14: ale. According to Lonely Planet, Derby is the ale capital of Britain. Swing by the Little Chester Ale House (above), Derby’s smallest pub and converted from a launderette, or be a brewer for the day (£30) at Derventio Brewery. http://www.visitderby.co.uk

Pyjama-wearing adults take over the 18th-century 40 Winks hotel for an evening of story-telling. (Picture: Supplied)

Bedtime Story Nights
For two nights next week, 40 Winks hotel, a flamboyant, early 18th-century town house in east London, will be taken over by pyjama-wearing adults for a night of storytelling. These are not bedtime stories intended to send you sweetly into slumber but erotic tales of love, lust and longing read by professional storytellers, accompanied by musicians. Guests sit cross-legged on the floor sipping gin cocktails.£30. http://www.40winks.org